Obama Energy Fact Sheet

7/29/2019 Obama Energy Fact Sheet

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Embargoed Until 6 AM Friday, March 15


President Obamas Blueprint for a Clean and Secure Energy Future

The United States is on the path to a cleaner and more secure energy future. Since President Obamatook office, responsible oil and gas production has increased each year, while oil imports have fallen toa 20 year low; renewable electricity generation from wind, solar, and geothermal sources has doubled;

And our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have fallen to theirlowest level in nearly two decades. In short, the Presidents approach is working. Its a winningstrategy for the economy, energy security, and the environment.

But even with this progress, there is more work to do. Rising gas prices serve as a reminder that we arestill too reliant on oil, which comes at a cost to American families and businesses. While theres noovernight solution to address rising gas prices in the short term, President Obama today reiterated hiscommitment to a sustained, all-of-the-above energy strategy and urged Congress to take up common-sense proposals that will further reduce our dependence on oil, better protect consumers from spikes ingas prices, and reduce pollution.

Background: The Energy Security Trust

The Obama Administration is calling on Congress to establish a new Energy Security Trust, which isdesigned to invest in breakthrough research that will make the technologies of the future cheaper andbetter technologies that will protect American families from spikes in gas prices and allow us to runour cars and trucks on electricity or homegrown fuels.

The Energy Security Trust, which builds on a proposal supported by a broad bipartisan coalitionincluding retired military leaders, will provide a reliable stream of funding for critical, breakthroughresearch focused on developing cost-effective transportation alternatives.

The Presidents proposal sets aside $2 billion over 10 years and will support research into a range ofcost-effective technologies like advanced vehicles that run on electricity, homegrown biofuels, fuelcells, and domestically produced natural gas. The mandatory funds would be set aside from royaltyrevenues generated by oil and gas development in Federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS),already included in the administrations five year plan. These revenues are projected to increase overthe next several years based on a combination of leasing, production, and price trends, with additionalrevenues potentially generated as a result of reforms being proposed in the FY 2014 Budget. The Trustis paid for within the context of the overall budget.

Paired with other Administration policies, including our historic new fuel economy standards, theTrust would help solidify Americas position as a world leader in advanced transportation technology.

For example, on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing a new report (LINK)that underscores the progress we have made to improve fuel economy, save American families moneyat the pump, and reduce carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. According to the report,from 2007 to 2012, EPA estimates that CO2 emissions have decreased by 13 percent and fuel economyvalues have increased by 16 percent. In addition, compared to five years ago, consumers have twice asmany hybrid and diesel vehicle choices, a growing set of plug-in electric vehicle options, and a six-foldincrease in the number of car models with combined city/highway fuel economy of 30 mpg or higher.


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The Energy Security Trust builds on this historic progress, continuing to increase momentum towardsto a cleaner, more efficient fleet that is good for consumers, increases energy independence, and cutscarbon pollution.

Producing More American Energy

President Obama is committed to an all-of-the-above approach that develops all American energysources in a safe and responsible way and builds a clean and secure energy future. Thats why thePresidents plan:

Challenges Americans to double renewable electricity generation again by 2020.In order to doublegeneration from wind, solar, and geothermal sources by 2020, relative to 2012 levels, the Presidentcalled on Congress to make the renewable energy Production Tax Credit permanent andrefundable, which will provide incentive and certainty for investments in new clean energy. Insteadof continuing century-old subsidies to oil companies, the President believes that we need to investin the energy of the future. During the Presidents first term, clean energy tax incentives attractedbillions of dollars in private investment in almost 50,000 clean energy projects, creating tens ofthousands of jobs. Permanent extension keeps the momentum building, while creating new jobs inclean energy.

Directs the Interior Department to make energy project permitting more robust. Last year, thePresident set a goal to permit 10,000 megawatts of renewables on public lands a goal the InteriorDepartment achieved. But there is more work to do. That is why the Department is continuing totake steps to enable responsible development of American energy on public lands. In support ofthis work, the Presidents Budget will increase funding for energy programs of the Bureau of LandManagement by roughly 20 percent. A significant share of these resources will support betterpermitting processes for oil and gas, renewable energy, and infrastructure, including the transition

to an electronic, streamlined system for oil and gas permits that will significantly reduce the timefor approval of new drilling projects. The Department will also propose more diligent developmentof oil and gas leases through shorter primary lease terms, stricter enforcement of lease terms, andmonetary incentives to get leases into production.

Commits to safer production and cleaner electricity from natural gas. Our domestic natural gasresources are reducing energy costs across the economy for manufacturers investing in newfacilities and families benefiting from lower heating costs. This abundant, nearly 100-year resourcecan support new jobs and growth, but there are steps we should take to make this growth safe andresponsible. The Presidents budget will invest more than $40 million in research to ensure safeand responsible natural gas production. And as part of a $375 million investment in cleaner energy

from fossil fuels, the Presidents budget includes significant funding for clean coal technology and anew $25 million prize for the first, natural gas combined cycle power plant to integrate carboncapture and storage.

Supports a responsible nuclear waste strategy. Under President Obamas direction, the EnergyDepartment created a Blue Ribbon Commission on Americas Nuclear Future to recommend howto manage the challenges associated with nuclear waste storage and disposal. After carefulconsideration of the Commissions input, the Administration has issued a strategy for action in


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response to the recommendations and looks forward to working with Congress on implementingpolicies that ensure that our Nation can continue to rely on carbon-free nuclear power.

Investing in Energy Security

During the Presidents first term, the United States cut foreign oil imports by more than 3.6 millionbarrels per day, more than under any other President. To ensure that we continue on a path towardsgreater energy security, the Presidents plan:

Sets a goal to cut net oil imports in half by the end of the decade. Increased production of domesticoil, natural gas, and biofuels, and improvements in the fuel economy of our cars and trucks allowedthe United States to cut imports of oil by almost one-third since 2008. To build on this progress, thePresident will direct new policies and investments to set us on a course to cut net oil imports in halfby the end of the decade, relative to 2008 levels.

Commits to partnering with the private sector to adopt natural gas and other alternative fuels inthe Nations trucking fleet. Private sector investments are building natural gas fuelinginfrastructure across the United States just as natural gas vehicle research is making the technologymore economically and environmentally effective. The President is committed to accelerating thegrowth of this domestically abundant fuel and other alternative fuels in the transportation sector ina way that benefits our planet, our economy, and our energy security: putting in place newincentives for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that run on natural gas or other alternative fuels,providing a credit for 50 percent of the incremental cost of a dedicated alternative-fuel truck for afive-year period; supporting research to ensure the safe and responsible use of natural gas; andfunding to support a select number of deployment communities: real-world laboratories thatleverage limited federal resources to develop different models to deploy advanced vehicles at scale.

Making Energy Go Farther Across the Economy

Cutting the amount of energy we waste in our cars and trucks, in our homes, buildings, and in ourfactories, will make us a stronger, more resilient, and more competitive economy. Improvements inenergy efficiency are critical to building a clean and secure energy future. To advance this priority, thePresidents plan:

Establishes a new goal to double American energy productivity by 2030. Today the Presidentissued a new goal to cut our economys energy waste in half over the next twenty years. Morespecifically, the Administration will take action aimed at doubling the economic output per unit of

energy consumed in the United States by 2030, relative to 2010 levels. This includes a new EnergyEfficiency Race to the Top challenge; building on the success of existing partnerships with thepublic and private sectors to promote energy efficiency; and continuing investments in technologiesthat improve energy productivity and cut waste.

Challenges States to Cut Energy Waste and Support Energy Efficiency and Modernize the Grid. Modeled after a successful Administration approach in education reform designed to promoteforward-leaning policies at the State-level, the Budget includes $200 million in one-time funding for


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Race to the Top performance based awards to support State governments that implement effectivepolicies to cut energy waste and modernize the grid. Key opportunities for Statesinclude: modernizing utility regulations to encourage cost-effective investments in efficiency likecombined heat and power, clean distributed generation, and demand response resources;enhancing customer access to data; investments that improve the reliability, security and resilience

of the grid; and enhancing the sharing of information regarding grid conditions.

Commits to build on the success of existing partnerships with the public and private sector to useenergy wisely. Over the next four years, the President is committed to accelerating progress onenergy productivity including through the Better Buildings Challenge, improving energy dataaccess for consumers through the "Green Button" initiative, and making appliances even moreefficient - saving consumers money, spurring innovation, and strengthening domesticmanufacturing.

Calls for sustained investments in technologies that promote maximum productivity of energy useand reduce waste.The Presidents Budget expands applied research and development of innovative

manufacturing processes and advanced industrial materials. These innovations will enable U.S.companies to cut manufacturing costs, enhance the productivity of their investments andworkforce, and reduce the life-cycle energy consumption of technologies, while improving productquality and accelerating product development.

International Leadership

The Administration has worked not only to strengthen our energy security at home, but also aroundthe world. In concert with our domestic actions, we have pursued a robust international agenda that:

Leads efforts through the Clean Energy Ministerial and other fora to promote energy efficiency andthe development and deployment of clean energy. Our efforts have helped to accelerate the globaldissemination of energy-efficient equipment and appliances through the Super-Efficient Equipmentand Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative, improved energy savings in commercial buildingand industry through the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership (GSEP), and supportedthe large-scale deployment of renewable energy through the 21st Century Power Partnership.

Works through the G20 and other fora toward the global phase out of inefficient fossil fuelsubsidies. Inefficient subsidies exact a steep toll on our economies, our energy security, and ourenvironment, and the United States is leading efforts internationally to accelerate progress ineliminating them.

Promotes safe and responsible oil and natural gas development. The Administration has worked topromote safe and responsible oil and natural gas production through initiatives like the EnergyGovernance and Capacity Initiative, which provides technical and capacity building assistance tocountries that are on the verge of becoming the worlds next generation of oil and gas producers,and the Unconventional Gas Technological Engagement Program, which works to help countrieswith unconventional natural gas resources to identify and develop them safely and economicallyand can support switching from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas.


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Updates our international capabilities to strengthen energy security. We are working with theInternational Energy Agency (IEA) and others to ensure that our international institutions andprocesses reflect changes in global energy markets.

Supports American nuclear exports. We are providing increased support for American nucleartechnology and supply chains to promote safe, secure, low-carbon nuclear power growth incountries that are pursuing nuclear energy as part of their energy mix.

Obama Energy Fact Sheet

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